Pages

Thursday, October 31, 2013

West Coast Crew

By MichaelTOMALES BAY

It's unbelievable to me that when we left
D.C., she was seven. Happy Birthday Boo.

In
the spring of 2010, I emailed John and Cindy of Port Ludlow, WA. I’d learned online that
they owned Namaste, one of the dozen-or-so Fuji 40s ever built. I told them Windy and I were considering buying
a sister ship for sale in Mexico. I had a million questions.

Cindy
got right back to me and in several emails she gave me lots of valuable
information about the boat. A month later, we did buy that 1978 Fuji 40 in
Mexico, named her Del Viento, and eventually sailed away. And we’ve kept in
touch with John and Cindy. They’ve hosted us at their home several times and
we’ve become friends.

Like
many Puget Sound-area boaters, John and Cindy haven't yet had the time, opportunity, or
need to sail outside the 6,900-square-mile watery playground that is the Salish
Sea. And though navigating their “protected” home waters is often more demanding from a seamanship perspective than offshore or coastal cruising, the North Pacific Ocean that lies just
beyond Cape Flattery remained for them an unknown.

No longer. A few weeks ago,
John sailed with us from Port Angeles, WA to Astoria, OR. Afterward, I asked him to write about
his experience so that I could post it here. Take it John:

“Several months ago I emailed my friends
Michael and Windy and asked if I could accompany them part of the way down the
coast in the fall on their return trip from Alaska back to Mexico. At the time
it was early summer and it sounded like a good idea. Now here I am on a late
September night; it’s dark, cold and raining and I need to climb down a wet,
vertical, 30-foot ladder to board their dinghy from the pier.

We've been three weeks in the Bay
Area anchored right here, in
Tomales Bay. In the foreground
are cousin Oliver, Grandma Julie,
Auntie Pao, cousin Otis, and Frances.

"I am not thrilled with heights and I was
definitely experiencing some pre-trip jitters as I followed 7-year-old Frances
down, in my foulies, one rung at a time, trying to maintain some bravado. I
survived and we were all soon aboard Del Viento, settling in and catching up on the events
in each other’s lives.

"We turned in for the night as we were to set
out early the next day. The plan was to leave from Port Angles, round Cape
Flattery and cross the Columbia River bar into Astoria. (Ocean sailing with a
bar crossing-what more could I ask for?) Unfortunately, sleep did not come
easily. My mind instead vividly reenacted many well-known tragedies at sea,
leaving me to wonder whether I would see my family again. (I know, very
melodramatic.)

"Windy woke me at 0630. It was cloudy, but no
longer raining, there was little wind. We weighed anchor without trouble and
headed into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Michael and the girls were still asleep
and Windy and I got the chance to talk about their routines when planning a
passage. I was excited to be doing a coastal ocean passage on the sister-ship
to our Namaste.

"Now underway, my anxiety started to dissipate
and even the clouds opened up to a bright, sunny day. We motored all day towards
Cape Flattery, keeping a sharp eye out for the occasional log. At sunset we were
abeam Neah Bay and I could see the light off Cape Flattery, where we’d make the
big 'left turn.' At this point, I could feel the increasing size of
the ocean swell. Too, there seemed to be more logs here at the entrance to the
Strait. It was getting dark fast and to my inexperienced self, these did not
seem to be ideal circumstances. But we continued on and I watched the desolate
Washington coast disappear behind us.

Windy grew up here in
San Anselmo, close to
where her folks live now.
It's also where George
Lucas penned Star Wars
in 1973 and Indiana Jones
in 1974.

"We decided I would take the 0100 to 0400
watch, so I soon headed to my berth to try and sleep before my turn. Before I knew it, Michael
woke me and in the cockpit he briefed me on conditions before leaving me to settle
into my watch. Although I was nervous, three hours passed without incident. Windy
showed up around 0400 to relieve me and I found sleep came easier than before.

"I had the early shift the next night and by
this time the nervousness I felt the night before was gone. The hardest part
about that watch was being cold, especially the last hour that seemed to drag.
But Michael reminded me about how pleasant a night watch can be in the tropics,
wearing only shorts and a T-shirt.

"Early on the third morning, Windy woke me to
let me know we were getting ready to cross over the Columbia River Bar. We had arrived
a few hours earlier than planned and so we would be crossing in the dark. While
the conditions seemed calm, we still contacted the Coast Guard to get the
latest conditions. The most unsettling part about crossing the bar was the
number of lights. Even though we all know "red right returning," there
seemed to be a lot of red lights and it was a bit confusing. But this is where
the iPad came in handy, as we were able to follow the channel in, even with
fishing boats and the occasional supertanker close by. By sunrise we had tied
up to the dock in Astoria and my first trip down the coast was over.

"In the days and weeks that have followed, I
have thought about the trip down the coast many times. While I did not cross
any oceans or make landfall on a distant shore, I returned home with a sense of
accomplishment and a better understanding of what to expect when we point
Namaste’s bow south. For me, dealing with the unknowns and the what-ifs have
been a hard part of preparing for our own trip. It is always possible to
imagine the worst-case scenario. And while I often talk to sailors who can tell
you about this or that terrible storm they were in, after spending time with
Michael and Windy, I realize that with careful planning, keeping an eye on the
weather, and a little luck, most of the drama can be avoided. I feel the
greatest thing I came away with was a feeling that although I know our own
cruise will not always be easy, I now have a greater sense of confidence in
being able to make our own dreams come true.”

--MR

John and Windy motoring in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

This is our friend Dr. Angus Stewart. He made the
trip with us from Eureka to Bodega Bay.

And here is Windy and her dad, Paul. Paul made the
early morning, five-mile trip from Bodega Bay to
Tomales Bay.

The girls with their cousins Oli and Otis,Del Viento behind.

Windy's Aunt Bev, her husband Don, and her
grandparents Lee and Dorothy, nonagenarians.
Lee flew a P-51 in Europe during WWII.The camera is up here Frances.

7 comments:

Michael, John mentioned using an iPad to navigate the Columbia River bar. Is this Del Viento's iPad? What navigation program(s) do you find useful? Are you using a 3G connection to update the GPS function or do you have a separate GPS receiver integrated with the iPad? Not long ago it was birthday time and Kathie gifted me and iPad mini, prompting my curiosity about its usefulness as a redundancy to our current nav insturments. Great post by John. It's always interesting to have someone share their fresh perspective. Fair winds as you make your way south to the good ship Del Viento.

Yep, Del Viento's iPad. We bought an iPad2 before we left and have used it as our primary navigation tool ever since. Before leaving Canada for Alaska, we bought a reconditioned iPad3 to be the back up since we love the device for navigation so much. Also, since we use the iPad for schooling apps and such, it's been great having two. Also, for longer stretches, one can charge while the other is in use. But to use it for navigation, you should have an iPad that is 3G-capable. The reason is that these models have an integrated GPS that the others do not. But we don't need 3G or wifi to use the built-in GPS for the navigation apps. The app we use most often is Navionics. For about $50, we get all the charts built-in for a huge portion of the coast. Two more caveats. First, the navigation apps are large, so both our iPads are the 64GB models, though 32GB might work just fine. Second, for non-3G-capable iPads, I think you can buy an external GPS for the iPad and use it thusly. Hope that helps. This is really Windy's domain, so she can give you more info when we see Citla in Mexico. Michael

Thanks for the information, Michael. We have a mini w/32GB and it's 3G capable. However, I also bought a bluetooth capable separate GPS receiver to use when out of cell signal range (Dual Skypro GPS receiver). Currently, I have the Nobeltech Time Zero, the Garmin BlueChart and the Plan2Nav by Jeppesen (using C-Map charting) loaded. The Navionics (iNavX) was highly rated, but it wasn't clear if charts of Mexico/Latin America were available. I have subsequently loaded the C-Map charts for Latin America for use with the Jeppesen app. We'll be here in San Diego until around the 15th, then we'll be heading back to the boat. If you're in town before the 15th give us a call, otherwise we hope to see you again in Mexico.Pete

Thank you for taking the time to comment; we look forward to reading your feedback. Don't forget that you may also contact us directly at delviento@hotmail.com (please type DEL VIENTO in the subject line)

Selling Your Writing

Voyaging With Kids

“If you’re thinking of cruising—full time or part time—you’ve got to read this book. Even if you don’t have kids aboard!” Carolyn Shearlock, author of The Boat Galley Cookbook

Follow by Email

In our twenties, we traded our boat for a house and our freedom for careers. In our thirties, we lived the American dream. In our forties, we woke and traded our house for a boat and our careers for freedom. And here we are.